Undefeated regular season nearly complete for Patterson

With a win, the ’Jacks will wrap up homecoming activities in style, finish the regular season unbeaten and claim the District 9-3A championship.

Injuries, however, have derailed Erath’s season, but a win over Patterson would be huge.

The Bobcats (3-6, 2-3) have had their moments this season, but they have struggled recently after losing key players. Last week, the Bobcats were even without the speedy Cole Bourque, probably the team’s best athlete. Playing shorthanded, Erath had just 44 total yards of total offense and two first downs in the first half of a 35-6 loss at Kaplan.

Patterson, the second-ranked team in Class 3A, has no excuse to be flat.

“This is what you play for,” longtime Patterson coach Tommy Minton said. “We set goals here and winning the district is the first goal and any unbeaten regular season is special so we will be ready to play.”

Franklin had some early success against Patterson last week before the ’Jacks rolled to a 62-19 win. The ’Jacks scored 29 third-quarter points to put the game out of reach.

PHS rolled up over 500 yards of total offense, including 303 yards on the ground.

Trevon Stewart, a University of Houston commitment, continued his stellar play. He was the team’s leading rusher with 128 yards on 11 carries and two scores. Stewart has carried 46 times for 703 yards and 13 TDs. He also caught three passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Mark Jones carried four times for 80 yards including a 77-yard touchdown run. Lorenzo Phillips and Dontay Jones both added rushing scores against the Hornets.

PHS quarterback Justice Jones was 11-of-17 passing for 213 yards and two scores last week. The senior has completed 96-of-140 passes for 1,514 yards and 23 touchdowns.

“This senior class has always risen to the occasion,” Minton said. “We expected them to do that again and go down as one of our most successful classes.”

Patterson leads District 9-3A (8-0, 5-0) while North Vermilion and Kaplan are both 4-1 going into their game today. Franklin and Erath are 2-3 followed by Abbeville and Berwick.

“We don’t want to share the district, so that alone will have the kids ready to go,” Minton said. “And our kids always want to play well for homecoming.”